In the course of writing an obituary of sorts for the Grand Old Party, Jacob Heilbrunn notes that Donald Trump has attracted some heavy-hitting enemies.
Exhibit A is the Wall Street Journal. Last Thursday its editorial page, which has historically functioned as a kind of conservative Politburo, bashed Trump for his heresies on eminent domain and property rights. “Mr. Trump,” it huffed, “is spinning property seizure as the price of admission for economic progress … but it isn’t true.” Meanwhile, Karl Rove exhorted on the Journal’s opinion page, “Messrs. Kasich, Cruz, Bush and Rubio must resist the temptation to go after one another—which only wastes vital time—and instead concentrate on Mr. Trump.”
And, of course, the National Review recently launched an entire anti-Trump issue of their magazine.
There’s no doubt that there’s a full-court press going on right now to try to derail Trump’s candidacy, but these people and organizations would be nothing without the Republican Party. Assuming they fail in their efforts to stop The Donald, the question is, how long will it be before they come to the Real Estate Tycoon on bended knee and offer to kiss his huge ring?
I expect this is something Trump’s ego would enjoy very much and he’d probably have little trouble being magnanimous. In exchange for a promise of complete fealty in the future, Karl Rove and the Wall Street Journal and the National Review would be forgiven for past sins and enlisted into the new Borg.
Of course, at that point, they would cease to serve any movement. They would serve only the great leader and his whims.
Since they have no real alternative, what else could they do?
Of course, if Trump goes on to lose the general election, they’d be able to revert back to their prior donors and business plans.
But, if he actually becomes the president?
